Kids Bow Recommendations

[largerack]

That Craze was a great youth bow.

 

[The_Jim]

I was suggested the mission adjustable bow and I honestly regret it. It was just too big and heavy for my son. At first he struggled to shoot more than about 3 shots without his bow arm getting tired and wobbly.

He is finally growing into it now, but at 8 years old I personally would get one of the smaller actual youth bows and just buy him a new bow again once he outgrows the youth model.

 

[nphunter]

IMO the best bow for a kid that age is a Hoyt Ruckus, you will have to find one used because they no longer make the Ruckus only the Ruckus Jr. which is built much cheaper. The original Ruckus bows are light weight, small and great for kids.

The bows that grow with people are not the best choice, they have big heavy cams and heavier limbs to accommodate all of the adjustments which makes them heavier. IMO if you want your kid to enjoy the sport get them a quality bow designed for a kid. The resale is great on youth bows so in a few years you can get almost if not all of your money back out of the bow.

A lot also depends on the size of your kid, if he's big for his age and heavy then he might do ok with a heavier bow, but most kids are small at 8 and would be better suited with a little kids bow.

Regardless of the bow, pull the quiver, stabilizer and anything else not necessary off of the bow to lighten it up. I would even pull the rubber limb dampeners if equipped, kids' bows don't need them. They should learn to shot with proper form and that's hard to do with a big heavy bow they are having to lean back to hold up.

Don't stress having a bow that will eventually go up to 50lbs, there are thousands of people shooting short draws and sub 50lb bows and killing plenty of stuff. Most recurve guys are shooting between 40-50lbs and a youth bow shooting 30 will have more energy than most recurves at 45. Besides that if they continue in the sport and love it you can get them a newer bow when they outgrow the kids bow you purchase.

My boys went from a diamond atomic, to a Ruckus, to a Strothers Hope (women bow). Both are currently hunting with Hope's. I had the Ruckus and Atomic for 5+ years each and sold them for pretty much exactly what I paid for them.

 

[Marshfly]

Great tip on those arrows. I was just shooting with my 6 year old, his only criteria for a successful shot is it sticking in the target

They don't have stores where you are but where I am, Bob Wards stocks these for cheap so you can walk in and buy what you need. You'll smile when you put them in the hand, especially compared to virtually everything else designed for light poundage bows.

 

[LookinforDirt]

I bought a Bear Royale Compound for my son when he was 9 years old. He is a bean pole but could still handle this bow. It is only 3.3lbs with accessories and has lots of adjustability. 12-27” draw, 5-50lbs. Comes fully accessorized. Could not have been happier with it.
Bear Royale

 

[Fredcohunter]

I bought my son a Bowtech Amplify 2 years ago when he was 10. Draw length 21"-30" and draw weight 8-70. He can shoot it from 10 until he buys his own bow

 

[ResearchinStuff]

IMO the best bow for a kid that age is a Hoyt Ruckus, you will have to find one used because they no longer make the Ruckus only the Ruckus Jr. which is built much cheaper. The original Ruckus bows are light weight, small and great for kids.

The bows that grow with people are not the best choice, they have big heavy cams and heavier limbs to accommodate all of the adjustments which makes them heavier. IMO if you want your kid to enjoy the sport get them a quality bow designed for a kid. The resale is great on youth bows so in a few years you can get almost if not all of your money back out of the bow.

A lot also depends on the size of your kid, if he's big for his age and heavy then he might do ok with a heavier bow, but most kids are small at 8 and would be better suited with a little kids bow.

Regardless of the bow, pull the quiver, stabilizer and anything else not necessary off of the bow to lighten it up. I would even pull the rubber limb dampeners if equipped, kids' bows don't need them. They should learn to shot with proper form and that's hard to do with a big heavy bow they are having to lean back to hold up.

Don't stress having a bow that will eventually go up to 50lbs, there are thousands of people shooting short draws and sub 50lb bows and killing plenty of stuff. Most recurve guys are shooting between 40-50lbs and a youth bow shooting 30 will have more energy than most recurves at 45. Besides that if they continue in the sport and love it you can get them a newer bow when they outgrow the kids bow you purchase.

My boys went from a diamond atomic, to a Ruckus, to a Strothers Hope (women bow). Both are currently hunting with Hope's. I had the Ruckus and Atomic for 5+ years each and sold them for pretty much exactly what I paid for them.

What specifically about the ruckus made it stand out to you?

 

[nphunter]

What specifically about the ruckus made it stand out to you?

It's small size, decent speed, real cams with bearings not bushings and it tunes up easy. The original ruckus seemed like a small version of a real bow. A friends daughter killed her first elk with a ruckus. To be honest there are a lot of different youth bows out now and my kids are 15 & 18 so i've been out of the market for a while. The other youth bows back then were either heavy or seemed cheaply made. My biggest complaint about the ruckus was it has cable stops so the back wall is spongy, my kids still won several shoots with the bow though.

 

[PA Archer]

So get the bow as light as possible and just practice them on proper form and shot process, good tips. Has anyone had any experience with any of the Bear Archery youth models at all?

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Looked around LAS yesterday, planning to go with the hoyt kobalt at this point.

 

[Marshfly]

Looked around LAS yesterday, planning to go with the hoyt kobalt at this point.

That will be a good choice. The bows that max out around 50# perform way, way better at low poundages than the ones that go all the way to 70#. Not a little better. WAY better.

And look for those VAP juniors.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

I grabbed some vap Jr's, they improved the recurve's performance enough to delay the kobalts til Christmas